Active vs Very Active

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traxless2009
traxless2009 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is there a definition for Active and Very Active? I do some kind of cardio 6-7 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes. I do a full body weight workout 2 X a week, Yoga at least 2 X a week, and all the yard work and other chores around the house. I’m 73 years old. The calorie goal is quite different depending on which I select. Thank you for any guidance.

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,394 MFP Moderator
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    You can always start with active and if you lose weight too fast, than you can make it very active.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,905 Member
    edited September 2019
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    There is a definition.

    If you go to Goals > View Guided Setup, the definitions are there.

    I've copied them here:

    How would you describe your normal daily activities?
    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesperson)
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. food server, postal carrier)
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)


    So ... based on the OPs description of what he/she does, I'd put him/her into sedentary or maybe lightly active depending upon how much time " all the yard work and other chores around the house" takes up each day.


    Activity levels aren't about the exercise you do ... you add that in later ... they're about normal daily activities.

    I'm a full time office worker and a part-time student who exercises just about every day ... walking, cycling, rowing, sometimes running, pilates, etc. etc. I aim for at least an hour of exercise a day plus I get up and walk around the office or home once an hour. But because I spend most of my time sitting, I'm sedentary.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    The activity levels on MFP do not include exercise. You track that separately here.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    Yoga, bodyweight exercise, and cardio would generally be logged separately as exercise and would not be counted in your activity level.

    Yoga doesn't burn a lot of calories, unless you're doing a relatively aerobic yoga flow or something similar. Bodyweight exercises probably don't burn a lot if they're strength-building exercises; strength training in general doesn't burn lots of calories. Cardio would vary depending on intensity.

    The yard work and chores would be counted in your activity level if they are part of your normal everyday routine.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    traxless2009 wrote: »
    Is there a definition for Active and Very Active? I do some kind of cardio 6-7 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes. I do a full body weight workout 2 X a week, Yoga at least 2 X a week, and all the yard work and other chores around the house. I’m 73 years old. The calorie goal is quite different depending on which I select. Thank you for any guidance.

    Taking out your exercise which isn't relevant to your question you need to have a think about what other activity you do day to day and week to week in addition to the chores and yard work to give it your best estimate.
    Might well be Lightly Active.

    But do remember you daily goal is for a day with no exercise.

    If you prefer to estimate your regular exercise and roll it up into a same every day goal then go to a site like https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/ and look at the categories that describe both activity & exercise.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    I have started with the lowest possible activity level - in my mind I can race the track / pool up and down like a super star, but in real life.....
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    neugebauer52 wrote: »
    I have started with the lowest possible activity level - in my mind I can race the track / pool up and down like a super star, but in real life.....

    Sorry but I don't understand that statement.
    What does the pool or track have to do with your activity setting?
  • traxless2009
    traxless2009 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thank you for this guidance. I had overestimated my activity level. So now my lower calorie goals seem more reasonable.
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
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    I always leave mine at sedentary then have it match to my fitbit, which seems mostly accurate (though I think it overestimates by about 10%). I log things like yoga or weight training separately.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    traxless2009 wrote: »
    Thank you for this guidance. I had overestimated my activity level. So now my lower calorie goals seem more reasonable.

    Ditto to Lightly Active easily being true - good job of not being Sedentary because of your extra work.

    And you did catch the responses about that eating goal only being the calorie goal on days you do no exercise?

    When you do more, you eat more.
    When you do less, you eat less.

    in a diet a tad less in either case.

    So log those workouts - start at taking the suggested calories and putting in 1/2 of them.
    If losing weight too fast which means it could be more than fat, and body mass you'd rather not lose like that - then increase the calorie burn on some workouts.

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